Contemporary Blues

Sometimes it's hard to get a handle on exactly what can be described as blues, as opposed to rock. The two genres have grown inextricably intertwined, with an ever-heavier reliance on marathon guitar solos. But like any musical idiom, blues has to evolve to survive. These artists will ensure that it won't turn into a museum piece. Eric "Slowhand" Clapton gets things rollin' with B.B. King.

Crunching, rock-slanted electric guitar powers a lot of contemporary blues, but there's also an elite bunch of players who travel other roads. It's great to hear a blazing piano every now and again, and once you've experienced Katie Webster's boogie-woogie on "Two-Fisted Mama" you'll see the light. Colin Linden gives his axe the gentle touch on "Big Mouth."

There's no telling what direction blues will take in coming decades, but there will be no shortage of innovation from the distaff side. Here, Debbie Davies turns the clichéd notion of moaning 'bout the woman who done you wrong on its head with "Wrong Man for Me," while Sue Foley shows why she's one of the finest roots blues artists around on "Time to Travel."

Contemporary blues takes the acoustic and electric traditions and updates them with a smoothed-out, polished style composed of flourishes of rock, pop, and R&B. Maybe it's not as gritty as the old stuff, but it's deep, dark, and soulful nonetheless. Taste some blues, 21st century-style, with this comprehensive survey of its greatest singers and players, including Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Alvin "Youngblood" Hart. One thing will never change: a great moniker gets you a long way in the blues.